Iga Swiatek's New Coach, Andy Murray's Shoe Game & More | 5 Setter

What's up, Chuckers producer Mike here, and we are coming to you from the Charleston Open here in South Carolina. That is why you hear background noise. That is why you might hear some music off in the distance. Maddie Keyes is playing her match right now. We just saw Jess Pagua pull off a

Stunning three setter. We saw Belinda Bencic roll in three also earlier today. So as we're recording this, there are gonna be some score updates. Check out the newsletter today for everything from Iva Yovich's evening match updates to how Matty Keyes' match.

adds up and enjoy the rest of the weekend. And before we get to the rest of the five setter, be sure to hit subscribe, follow us on your favorite podcast platforms, and follow us on all these social channels. And guys, this is your served five setter for Friday, April 3rd.

This is what we got for ya. Sir Andy Murray wants to sell your sneakers made of beans. Monte Carlo's withdrawal list keeps growing. Alcaraz's coach says what we're all thinking, maybe. And the Carolinas make a serious play for women's tennis. But first

The coaching carousel continues. Igis Viantec parted ways with Wynne Facet after Miami, and she moved on fast. Francisco Roy, Rafa's former coach for over two decades, part of the team for all of Rafa's twenty-two Grand Slam titles, is officially her new coach. Ega confirmed it on Instagram from a clay court in Mallorca, posting, welcome to the team, Francisco. Very excited for this new chapter. This makes sense. Ega's dropped to number four in the world, hasn't reached a final this season.

Her game is the Spanish school. Heavy topspin, extreme RPMs, grinding opponents behind the baseline. Roych has literally built his career coaching that style. The first tournament together for the duo, Stuk Art, April 13th. Clay season officially is on.

Speaking of making it official, Sir Andy Murray is officially in the shoe business. He announced his partnership with Hilo, a British sustainable running shoe company, in the most Andy Murray way possible. A mock press conference where the mics don't work, the stage is literally falling apart around him. Classic deadpan Scott Energy. Then a reporter asked him the question everyone's thinking, is this about going after Roger Federer once again? Check out this clip. I want to make this very clear.

It's not about him. Now Andy's selling sneakers made of castor beans, corn, and seaweed. Meanwhile, Roger's sitting on a three percent stake of On Running, a company valued at nearly twenty billion dollars. His stake alone is worth around three hundred and seventy five million. Then you add in the Unique Lo deal, the Rolex Partnership, Mercedes Moet, and the Labor Cup. Forbes, as we've reported before, has Roger at one point one billion.

Dollars in net worth. Now Andy Murray's building himself quite the portfolio himself with Hilo, Castro, and Game Four Paddle. It appears that some rivalries may not ever leave the court. They just move into the boardroom. One thing that Andy Murray and Roger Frederick do not have, though, is a podcast. So luckily for them, they can always come on our show where we have our own Andy and a pretty damn good podcast, I think, but I'm biased.

On to set number three. Monte Carlo kicks off this weekend. Quick reminder, it's the only non-mandatory Masters 1000, and the withdrawal list reflects that. Five big names out. Novak Djokovic with a right shoulder, Taylor Fritz. Healing some tendonitis. Jack Draper still managing an arm injury and 2025 semifinalist Davidovich Fakina is out with an abdominal tear. Plus Sebastian Korda is skipping the event as well with a back injury.

So who is in? Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion and the number one seed with a thousand points to defend. Yannick Center is the two seed fresh off a Sunshine double sweep without dropping a set. Zverev is the three seed, Lorenzo Massetti is the number five seed back after making the finals last year, and then Demon, FAA, Medi, and Bublik round out the top eight.

Two names to watch outside the top eight. One, Stepanos Sissipas, three-time Monte Carlo champion, is currently unseated. And Valentin Vachero becomes the first local player to enter the main draw on merit. Pretty cool history. The draw ceremony is Friday. We will have more on this next week.

On to set number four. One more Alcaraz story before we close the books on Miami. During his third round loss to Corta, Alcaraz was caught on camera saying to his team, quote, I can't take it anymore. I want to go home now, man. His coach Sammy Lopez this week sat down with Eurosport Spain and addressed it. Here's the clip No creo que haya eh normalizarlo como que dejarlo estar,¿no? Pero, pero tampoco lo veo nada sorprendente,¿sabes? O sea, no hay que normalizarlo porque tiene 22 años.

Y hay que hacerle entender que bueno, pues que este tipo de comentarios tiene mucha trascendencia,¿no? Y fuera, sobre todo fuera del equipo,¿no? Porque luego internamente. internamente no, no que internamente o sea sabíamos eh cómo llegábamos a Miami en la situación como estaba y y bueno eh, tiene que tratar de controlar esos impulsos que él tiene, que siempre los ha tenido y cada vez menos, cada vez los tiene menos.

tiene que controlar sobre todo para para el contrario tanto para el jugador como el equipo contrario no que no demostrar en algunos momentos esas debilidades no que se puede decir pero bueno más allá de eso es una forma de expresar y de quitar un poco las tensiones y los cansancios que se llevan acumulados. No hay que darle más importancia.

For those of you listening and don't speak Spanish like myself, I'm paraphrasing for you, but Lopez said of the actions by Alcaraz that it shouldn't be normalized, but it is not surprising for a 22-year-old. He said that Carlos needs to control those impulses, especially in front of the opponent. You don't want to show those weaknesses to the other side of the net, but that beyond that, that's just how Carlos releases tension. The team understood the situation going into Miami.

Whatever that means. Link of the full interview is in the show description. To close, Lopez also cited that Alcaraz is back in Mercia training on clay, that Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, and Rolandueros are all on the table. There will be no shortcuts.

Because clay season for Alcaraz, it's a different beast. And now we are here to wrap it up with set number five. And we are here on the grounds live at the Credit One Charleston Open here in South Carolina. Shout out to Bob Moran and Maggie Brown for the seats today to see Benchich, Pagula, and Maddie Keys.

I have to say I have not been on the grounds here since they finished the stadium a few years back, and it is incredible. Shout out to BMOX Sports and Entertainment for this crown jewel built for both the players and the fans. If you're in Charleston this weekend, try and get out here. Check it out. It's pretty awesome. Grab a bite at the kitchen. Grab one of the delicious first-served cocktails. Techie Sean and I have contributed to hopefully their record-breaking sales numbers this week.

Fun fact, this is the only GreenClay event on the WTA tour and the only standalone WT500 to match ATP 500 prize money with a total pool of$2.3 million. But here's the bigger headline coming out of the Carolinas. Reports broke this week that the WTA Finals are potentially leaving Saudi Arabia after this season. The three year deal with Riyadh is done and the front runner to host starting in 2027, Charlotte, North Carolina. Serves hometown in just a few hours drive north here of Charleston.

When asked about it recently, Maddie Key said that Charlotte would be great because of the regional fan base is already built in. Our own Kim Kleisers was part of a WTA contingent that met with. With leaders in Charlotte this past week, and she spoke about it on Love All on Wednesday. If you haven't heard it, go check it out. But here's a clip.

It was my first time in Charlotte and it was a a very um kind of impressive room of people that uh I feel like are very passionate about sports but also about kind of bringing tennis to the Charlotte area and um yeah, just really enjoyed kinda getting to meet a lot of the people that are interested and I know the Charlotte Sports Foundation is uh is very much behind it and um so we'll see where it where it heads to the WTA

A decision is expected by the end of April, and as a Charlotte Homer I have no doubt that if Charlotte is chosen, there will be the support in the stands these players deserve. We'll be watching this one closely. And guys, this leads us to our tie break trivia. And for the second week in a row, we will be sticking with the Charleston Open. Speaking of tennis pedigree in the American South, the Charleston Open has attracted the best WTA players in the world for over 50 years.

Many legends have won the title multiple times, including Chrissy Effort, Tracy Austin, Martina Navertilova, Steffi Graff, Gabriella Sabatini, Cochita Martinez, Justine Hennan, and Serena Williams. Some pretty good players. The question is, which of those players, after winning this event, went on to win the French Open in the same year?

We'll have that answer for you on this week's Five Setter newsletter. And while you're there, check out the headlines that didn't make the show, including the results from the tournaments in progress and a look at Ivayovich's plans for the clay season. For the full breakdown, head to surfpodcast.com or find us on Substack. Remember to hit subscribe on YouTube and follow us on your favorite podcast platform.

This is producer Mike signing off from the Charleston Open with Techie Sean, who will not come on camera. Go get me another drink.